Incubator ?'s

[JDouglas]

I made this incubtor out of a cooler, flexwatt, bricks, eggcrate, a plastic tub, and plexiglass. Total cost was under $35(not counting dig. therm. and thermostat).

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/2806Final-med.JPG

First I taped one piece of 11" flexwatt to the bottom and placed a brick on each side. I used egg crate to make a bridge over the heat.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/2806Step_1-med.JPG

I put 3 layers of egg crate in a plastic tub and added 3/4 of an inch water. I plan on using the "no substrate" method. I will be replacing the bottom level of egg crate with a full piece so babies can't get into the water. This tub has holes burned in it, but the holes are covered with tape. I plan on poking holes open as a way of adjusting the humidity.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/2806Step_2-med.JPG

The tub fits nicely in the cooler, and I cut a piece of plexiglass for a lid. This allows me to see the eggs without opening the egg chamber and letting cold air in(thanks Jeff Favelle). The tub is also slightly unlevel so water drops will run to the side and down instead of dripping on eggs.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/507/2806Step_3-med.JPG
I plan on using this incubator for Irian Jaya Carpet Python eggs in the spring.
Does anyone see any design flaws or have any ideas for improvement?


Thanks for looking...

[Jeff_Favelle]

Looks perfect to me. But looking perfect and acting perfect are two completely different things. Know one will know until you hatch your beauties man!!! :D

Only thing I do differently is that I use a submersible heater instead of flexwatt. This way, I create 100% RH (relative humidity) and the eggs are on no substrate. This is the whole concept of the incubator. 100% humidity and no substrate eliminates all error!

But your design should work. The humidity thing will just be trickier. But you will get it. For sure.

[JDouglas]

Thanks Jeff!
I am testing it right now so it will be perfect when the time comes. With the thermostat probe in the egg chamber the temp is +/- 0.75 degrees(88-89.5) I am hoping that if I place the probe outside the chamber the temps will not fluctuate as much?

I should be able to keep the humidity at 100% by having water at the bottom of the egg chamber. I saw an website that showed the "no substrate method" and thought I would go that route. The guy was also breeding IJCP and had a 100% hatch rate. He used the same type of set up but didn't have holes in his egg chamber. I am wondering how much air circulation eggs need. Maybe he opened the chamber once in a while to let in fresh air? What do you think?

[NiagaraReptiles]

Jeff, is that they type of set up you've used for your Ackie eggs too?

[Jeff_Favelle]

Sort of.

[JDouglas]

From what I have seen I think Jeff uses a submersable fish aquirium heater instead of flexwatt. This makes the humidity outside the egg chamber 100% so you can put as many air holes as you want in the egg chamber and don't have to worry about their humidity falling. I tried it with this cooler. I placed water in the bottom of the cooler with the submerible heater and it couldn't get warm enough. The thermostat on the end of the aquarium heater could not be set higher than 89F and the air temps were a couple degrees cooler which is not warm enough for IJCP. I will be keeping my eyes open for one that will get hot enough. If anyone knows a good brand/model let me know.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Visi-Therm or Ebo Jager. I use the 250W model, but for that size incubator, you could use a 75W one.

[JDouglas]

Thanks, Jeff.

In my area the petstore and Walmart do not carry these so its time to do some online shopping!

[JDouglas]

O.K. I ordered an Ebo-Jager TS 100W submersible for under $22 with shipping. Here are the details and specs.

Ebo-Jager took their already superior heater and made it better. Ebo-Jager All New TS Series heaters are completely waterproof, submersible heaters perfect for freshwater or saltwater use. Heavy duty 2mm thick shock resistant Pyrex glass construction are twice as thick as most other heaters and far stronger. The tempearture is adjustable from 64°F and 94°F with an easy to adjust thermostat. Precision bistable thermostat with an impressive +/- 0.5° accuracy. Free from radio and TV interference. 6 foot double insulated power cord included.

Now I can uncover the holes in my egg chamber for better airflow and maintain 100% humidity! The temps should also be more stable.

Jeff, what is the temp range of your jungle carpet incubators?

Here is a link to the website I ordered from if anyone is interested.
MarineDepot.Com (https://www.marinedepot.com/a_ht_ej.asp?CartId=)

[Jeff_Favelle]

Awesome choice man! What a great deal you got!

And my incubator doesn't have a range (heh heh). 89.4F and that's where it stays. I have 5 digital thermometers in it and they all say the same (well one says 89.3F, but its always been off, LOL!!).

Only time it changes is when I open the lid (not very often, except for the last 2 weeks).

[Zoe]

Why do they need 100% RH? Isn't that a bit too high (I thought 90-95 was ideal?).

Also, why do you open the lid open in the last 2 weeks?

Zoe

[JDouglas]

"And my incubator doesn't have a range (heh heh). 89.4F and that's where it stays. "

Man, that is awesome. I hope I can get that level of accuracy after I install my aquarium heater! I will post a few more pics of the finished incubator after I receive the heater in the mail, and after testing it I will post my results on here for everyone to see.

Thanks for all your help,
Jaremy Douglas

[jay76]

Good design Jaremy! I'm curious, what are you using to measure the humidity? One of those Exo-Terra style disc shaped stick on jobbies or somethiong more accurate?

[Jeff_Favelle]

Why do they need 100% RH? Isn't that a bit too high (I thought 90-95 was ideal?).

I have no idea what humidity is "ideal". I don't incubate humidity. I incubate eggs. Eggs are all that matters. I use 100% humidity and no substrate. I have no idea what the result would be if I tried 80% humidity. Or 90% humidity. After hatching eggs at a 100% hatch rate (for fertile eggs) since 1995, I am not about to change. Substrates can have higher or lower osmotic pressures than the eggs themselves, so I don't trust them. Not in the least. I use no substrates and 100% humidity and allow the eggs to pull whatever water they need out of the air.



Also, why do you open the lid open in the last 2 weeks?

Eggs start to develop, they use more oxygen, and they require more air exchange (SOME people think). Its not necessary. Not at all. Might even be a detriment. But I don't care. I'm in there looking at them anyways.

[JDouglas]

I use digital humidity gauges in my cages and have learned that if there are water drops on all the sides and top it is definitely at 100%. The incubator will definitely be at 100% with all the water in the bottom of the cooler and in the bottom of the egg chamber, so I am not going to bother using one.

Jeff, do you use a one in your set up?

[Jeff_Favelle]

Jeff, do you use a one in your set up?

Nope. Don't measure humidity. Never have, never will.

[JDouglas]

OK I got my aquarium heater but I am still having trouble keeping the temps from fluctuating. It has a 2-3 degree swing. Its a good thing I started this project early. I am beginning to get frustrated. Here is the problem, the water heats up and the thermostat turns off the heater, the water is warmer than the air and continues to heat egg chamber. Then the air cools as the water temp goes down. I think part of the problem is that my heater is too strong at 100 watts? Plus I only have about 4 inches of water in the bottom of the cooler so it heats quickly? I also have a lot of holes in my egg chamber so the temp can change fast?

Jeff, do you have any advice. How many ventilation holes do you put in your egg chamber? How much water do I need? Should I scrap the cooler and move to something else. What exactly do you use. If your temps don't fluctuate I want to use exactly what you use. How bout you just drive to Iowa and build it for me? LOL

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Jeff_Favelle]

the water is warmer than the air and continues to heat egg chamber. Then the air cools as the water temp goes down

You just answered your own question (sort of). The air shouldn't cool. Why is the air cooling? That is your problem.

As for the heater being too high of wattage, impossible. The only thing that can be bad with your heater is that its on/off range might be too large. I'm not sure if you can change that.

Yes, you need more water. Lots more. Or at least bricks or gel-packs to act as a heat sink. For sure. You need to create thermal mass. Lots of thermal mass always translates into less fluctuation.

Ventilation holes? Unless you room is 85F+, I wouldn't have ANY! My room is 70F that my incubator is in and I don't have ventilation holes in the incubator. Its not like air is getting used up very fast. Scrap the holes.

My setup is a wood box (4x4x3) lined with styrofoam on the inside and then lined with plastic to hold the water. Nice tight lid, skirt around the lid to minimize air flow and a 250W heater. Also there's a Helix if the temps get above 91F. It never comes on though.

Piece of cake.

Let me know if you need any other details my man. Its the best way to go, other than an entire room-incubator. :D

[Tim_Cranwill]

Awesome thread guys! Thanks for all of the info. :)

I am going to go with the no-substrate method this year for sure. I'll probably start building my next incubator once my snakes go down for brumation and I'm sure I'll be referencing this thread often.

Thanks again guys!

[JDouglas]

Thanks for the advice Jeff. My cooler doesn't have any holes in it but it may be loosing heat around the lid? The holes I was reffering to are in the egg chamber. It has a lot of holes. I have covered all but a couple and added more water to the cooler. I also got rid of the suction cups that were holding the heater and taped it directly to the bottom of the cooler, so the heater is deeper in the water. I now also heat my entire room to 80F. These changes seem to have helped, but I need more time to test it to know for sure...

If it doesn't work I will have to get a shorter egg chamber so I can add more water and bricks for thermal mass. I am afraid that if my IJCP lays a clump of eggs they will be to tall for the egg chamber? :(

If these ideas don't work I may even scrap the cooler and use a tall garbage can, insualte it with foam, line it with plastic, and make a lid with heavy 2 inch foam.
I will have this perfect eventually...:D
Thanks,

Jaremy

[Jeff_Favelle]

Try to make the egg chamber at least 6 inches high. This allows for a tall clutch if the female "beehives". It also allows you to put a layer of styrofoam in the bottom to further minimize fluctuations.

[Will]

Just curious by what you guys mean by "no substrate". Do you just lay the eggs just on the white plastic grate...?

Incubator is my 'winter project', so I'm looking at some ideas....

[JDouglas]

Just curious by what you guys mean by "no substrate". Do you just lay the eggs just on the white plastic grate...?

Yes, no substrate means you place the eggs directly on the plastic grate. I put about an inch of water in the bottom and use 3 layers of crate to keep the eggs up out of the water. Or you could put the grate on top of a moist layer of vermiculite, sterlite, etc.

[JDouglas]

OK, I finally got my incubator temps to hold at a constant temp with no fluctuations at all!!!! I think the aqurium heater I purchased was defective because it didn't hold water temp well at all.

I am now using an eight inch strip of 3 inch flexwatt with an ESU thermostat. I placed the thermostat probe directly on the heat tape. This makes the thermostat turn on and off every few minutes. My egg chamber has an inch of water in the bottom and only a few holes on the sides for circulation. My humidity is high enough to form droplets of water on the clear lid and sides of the egg chamber. I think I have it perfect now!!

I am going to start a new thread with step by step instructions of how I built it.

Jeff Favelle, thanks for all your help.

[Jeff_Favelle]

EXCELLENT. But the real test comes 55-60 days after putting eggs in there. Hatch or no hatch is the only test that matters.

[JDouglas]

Your right about that Jeff, first I have to get the IJCP's to breed, then incubate and hope for the best.
I am getting a little ahead of myself, but at least I am will be ready when the time comes (if it comes). All I will have to do is plug in the incubator right before she lays and it will be ready to go!

Thanks again!